Do I feel betrayed? I guess that’s one emotion that’s bubbled to the surface, but I’m finding that it has to share space with anger, disbelief, incredulousness and so many others these days.
Betrayal seems to be the most common sentiment among Canadians when discussions turn to the recent undiplomatic antics of United States President Donald Trump. When your closest neighbour, strongest ally and largest trading partner thinks so little of your relationship that it threatens a trade war and makes repeated overtures about annexation, it's difficult not to feel betrayed.
It’s natural to think that Canada doesn’t mean much to the U.S. given what’s transpired since Trump was elected for a second time, but I believe it’s quite the opposite. He wouldn’t be saber rattling if he didn’t covet Canada for our vast natural resources and strategic location.
But this economy-crippling game of chicken Trump is waging goes well beyond what’s in the U.S.’s best interests and has morphed into a land developer’s desire to expand the reach of his empire to leave a legacy like no other. It’s no coincidence that Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal, even Gaza are all on Trump’s to-do list.
I was watching a right-wing commentator on TV a couple of weeks back who seemed surprised that Canadians were pushing back on all the 51st state talk. He was of the mind that we should feel privileged the United States would even consider bringing Canada into the fold and was genuinely offended that Canadians didn’t want their country to become part of the U.S.
As a Canadian, I couldn’t help but marvel at his arrogance, his firmly-held belief that the U.S. is so wonderful that we’d all be fools not to jump at the chance to sign up.
I guess such sentiment should be expected given the U.S. has long had a reputation of thinking rather highly of itself. There’s absolutely no doubt that the United States is a world power, one with immense economic and military might, prowess that its citizens should rightly take pride in, but to take that a giant step further and believe everyone would want to become an American is some breathtaking pomposity.
Perhaps Trump’s expansionist ideas are nothing more than fantasy and bluster, and in the case of Canada, merely an attempt to set the table for a more advantageous trade agreement or better border security, but whatever the rationale, he’s set back relations between the two countries in a significant way.
It doesn’t get much more unneighbourly than trying to undermine another country’s sovereignty, so the damage he’s caused, and what’s potentially still to come, will linger long after he’s left office.
Depending on how this all plays out, betrayal might eventually give way to other emotions as Canadians learn a valuable lesson in international relations. When we look back to 2025 and Trump’s tumultuous second term, we might more readily think of empowerment or resilience, of how we stood up to an aggressor and came out the other side better for it.
In the meantime, I’ll remain in awe of the hubris of the man at the centre of it all.
